Following Samuel "Golden Rule" Jones Example

This morning I stood in a special place. Today is the birthday of Samuel “Golden Rule” Jones. And over the past few years as I’ve read his own writing and what others have written about him, I have been inspired and encouraged by the potential for values, heart and courage to be present political leadership. 

I believe the way you honor someone is not simply by naming buildings after them, but by living how they lived. So this morning, to honor Golden Rule on his birthday, I visited his gravesite in the Historic Woodlawn Cemetery. And I asked the press to come along so I could invite leaders from every sector in our city to join me in following Golden Rule’s age old example of leading with heart and courage. Golden Rule Jones is legendary because he exhibited Moral Leadership. 

And if Samuel “Golden Rule” Jones were around today, he would not sit back and watch Toledo’s public school students struggle with homelessness at a rate higher than any other city in the state. This is the Moral Leadership Crisis of our day and I am calling on, and inviting leaders from all sectors in our community to join me in meeting this challenge head on. 

Recent reporting has shown Toledo has more homeless students in our community than any other city in Ohio. This is not a TPS problem alone, this is not a homeless shelter problem alone, this is not a faith community problem alone, this is not a business community or economic problem alone. This is our collective problem, and it is going to take our collective resources to solve it. 

So, on August 24th I am inviting community leaders to join myself and the following individuals to get together and come up with a solution to this problem. I am thankful to Dan Rogers, who will host this meeting on August 24th 11am-1pm at Cherry St. Mission’s Life Revitalization Center. We have invited several key community leaders and will be inviting many more over the coming days. 

We can do it. We can meet this moral leadership challenge and together honor the legacy leaders like Golden Rule Jones and in doing so, leave a better legacy for those who come after us. 

If you want to join us, or know someone who should - let me know! (RSVP link coming soon). 🙏🏻